Service du Travail Obligatoire

Founded in 1943-02-16

Pierre Laval introduced, on 1943-02-16, the most unpopular of his proposals, the Service du Travail Obligatoire, which at first called for young men aged from twenty to twenty-two to register to work in Germany for two years. As a consequence, young men went into hiding, draft dodging, or went into the Resistance. Only half of the age group was sent. The disappointed Laval enlarged the source of supply to men between eighteen and sixty and childless women from eighteen to forty-five. About 650.000 men and 44.000 women were sent from France to work in Germany, a total number second only to those sent from Poland, and first as a provider of skilled labor.